On the way to finding a ‘new normal’
There can be no doubt that the impact of coronavirus will be felt on our economy for months, if not years to come.
Right across industries, a raft of massive challenges must be beaten if jobs are to be saved and for our local economy to continue to prosper.
Locally, the aviation sector is facing the biggest challenge. Glasgow Airport and Rolls-Royce at Inchinnan directly support thousands of jobs and indirectly create thousands more.
It’s not exaggerating to say that a long-term major downturn for either of these sites would be a disaster for Renfrewshire’s economy – not just for those immediately affected, but for everyone in the area.
As a member of the Transport Select Committee, I had the opportunity to quiz British Airways boss Willie Walsh last week.
He plans to axe 12,000 jobs and force all remaining staff onto poorer contracts with less pay and less rights, under threat of losing their jobs too. It’s the kind of industrial relations strategy Thatcher would’ve approved of.
That can’t be the way to plan the future and build a company back up after this crisis. A company’s best asset is its people, and for BA to treat its own people like this says so much about the values they hold.
Meanwhile today sees the publication of the Scottish Government’s roadmap for the phased reduction in lockdown measures over the near future. If – and it is a big if – it’s safe to do so, we might see some changes in the kinds of activities we can do, such as some outdoor work being allowed to resume and some limited outdoor sports getting back on.
But we need to be honest and say that returning to what was ‘normal’ is likely a very long time away, and the day to day lives we lead for the foreseeable future will almost certainly be very different to what we’ve known before.
The fact that some of these restrictions might be about to be relaxed is a tribute to everyone in this country who has sacrificed their normality to help the greater good.
If lockdown had been widely ignored, we would likely be stuck in this situation for much longer.
Getting the balance right between minimising the transmission of Covid- 19 wherever possible, and easing some of the restrictions we’ve all had to ensure for the last two months, is an incredibly difficult task and there can’t be many decisions the First Minister has had to make over her six years in office that must have weighted as heavily on her mind.
There are real health implications from the restrictions in place now, just as there are if relaxing some of the guidance causes infection rates to rise. No choice will be 100 per cent right or 100 per cent wrong – but will inevitably be the best on balance.
We may see a gradual easing of restrictions over coming weeks and months, but that doesn’t mean easing our awareness. Handwashing and good hygiene will still be vital, and we will need to be thoughtful about where we go and why.
I suspect we’ll see hand sanitiser and disinfectant at the supermarket entrances for some time to come.
Hopefully the near future will be the start of opening our society and our country back up and beginning the work of rebuilding and rejuvenating our economy – and making sure our people are given the support and help we need to continue to work together.